Castle of Gift
by Celestrian
Summary: In the year 2022, the VMMORPG, Sword Art Online was released with thousands of players logging on. During that day, they all got stuck in the game, only until they beat it. Determination was set into some players, one of them Blue Light. She, along with other players, work on leveling up and beating the game. Though she's not like the others. She knows who's in charge of the plot.
1. The Fateful Day

The wind of the area was blowing in my face, causing my hair to blow backwards. The weather today was great in here. In here being the greatest video game created yet. Sword Art Online.

Today was the release. 10,000 players had logged in today, including me. I logged in the moment I could. I wanted to dive back into this game. You see, I was a _beta tester._ I got the first look of the game, along with 999 other people of course.

Though today, beta testers and first timers alike were mixing in to join the adventure. When I logged in I looked at my familiar gloves and grinned. It was time to act now.

Wasting no time, I plunged in. I ran through alleys and random roads I found, trying to get to my secret spot. I call it this because as far as I know, I'm the only one who knows about it. Running in that direction, I finally got to the field, which signalled I was getting closer to my area.

As I was running, some level 1 boars spawned. Easy experience for me then. I grabbed out my knife, which I prefer calling tiny sword, and raced forward, already feeling the familiar sensation of the skill beginning to activate. I reached the boar and in one swift move, it was gone. A bar popped up showing me my prize, but it didn't matter because these were normal objects.

I eventually reached a set of trees and pushed them aside. Walking through them, the sight was still beautiful. There was a waterfall in the back, greenery spreading around wildly but with elegance. In the center there was a pedestal containing some box with lines and a chest. Knowing my stuff would be taken and my skills redone, I didn't bother opening the chest.

Now that the release was out, it doesn't matter. I walked forward to the pedestal and jumped on. The chest looked like one from a while back. It's decorations were spiraled together and formed some weird symbol. I tapped the chest and a message popped up.

_Item Received: Mirage Sphere_

_1,000 Col_

The col I get, but a _mirage sphere_? Why would that even be on level one? I guess I'll ask dad later when I log off. I accepted the items and laid down against one of the tress. I was about to relax when a noise came from the opening to the area. I quickly stood up and drew out my tiny sword.

A person came through the clearing and I recognized who it was. It was my friend who I met during the beta test, Hokta. Weird name, I know, but he's pretty fun and interesting. "Oh it's you. What are you doing here?" He laughed at my catiousness but replied.

"Can I not visit you once? Just wanted to hang out on the day of release. Knowing you, you'll disapear for months before I see you again." I laughed slightly, knowing that this was true. "Yea well, your visits over. Goodbye" I began to push him out of my secret spot.

"Wa-wait! Why don't we..kill some creatures together?" I thought about this and nodded. "Fine. Let's go." I walked past him and he followed then we both ventured off into the field. There weren't really any exciting creatures we could fight, just normal level 1 boars.

After a while, we had both leveled up a bit but were tired of fighting these things. We decided to just relax back at my secret spot. We were both lying up against a tree when Hokta spoke up. "So Maemi. What are you going to focus on in here?" This was actually a pretty serious question in here.

"I'll probably work on my strength and speed equally, then after that if I do any other thing it could possibly be searching." He nodded and was about to ask something else when he looked into the corner of his vision and gasped.

"Oh no. It's already five thirty! Oh crap.." I looked at him in question. "What's up?" He sighed and rubbed his temple. "I promised my sister a chance on here at five. Whoops." I laughed at his mistake. "Well, better hurry up then. She'll be angry and you know it." He nodded and opened up his menu, going to the logout button.

I got up and started walking off when he talked. "It's..not there.." I turned around and squinted at him. "What are you talking about Hokta?" He looked at me with a serious expression. "I mean exactly what I said. It's _not _there!" I sighed and opened up my menu, scrowling to the logout menu-

It's exactly as he says. It's not there. "What..." I was going to question this but bells went off in the background. I turned and ran to the clearing and saw other players. But they were glowing, the glow you get when teleporting.

I turned towards Hokta and saw him glowing. "Hokta!" He pointed at me so I looked down at my hand and saw the bluish glow again. Immediatly I was teleported. When my vision came too, I saw a bunch of other players, all of us in the Town of Beginnings.

_What's going on? _I thought to myself. I looked around trying to see if there was anyone I recognized. Hokta was somewhere else, no longer by my side. Everyone else around me was a total stranger. I sighed and looked up, only to see a red block on the cieling of the level.

"Hey look up there!" Someone yelled this out causing everyone to bob their heads up in unison. The red spread to other areas until the entire cieling was covered. Blood red came falling down the cracks. It looked like the red was going to fall, yet it didn't and formed a cloak.

_What-who is that? What the heck is happening?! _The people here quieted down when it looked like the figure was going to speak. "Welcome to my world, dear players." _What does he mean by 'his' world?_ "My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world."

"Wha-" What is he talking about. Akihiko Kayaba? It couldn't be him. He's not.. "You have likely noticed by now that the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug, I repeat, this is not a bug- it is a feature of Sword Art Online."

This can't possibly be true! But..Hokta couldn't log out earlier, so it must be true. People started murmuring random things but stopped. "From this point onward, you will be unable to freely log out of the game until the summet of the castle is conquered."

"Furthermore, the NerveGear can not be removed or shut down via externel means. If forceful means of exit are attempted.." Kayaba took a momentary dramatic pause. "..the high powered microwaves emitted by the NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down your vital processes."

I gawked at this information. Can the NerveGear even do that? Wait, it can. The NerveGear helmet has countless transmitters that emit faint electromagnetic waves. With enough power, the helmet _could _in fact scramble your brain.

"To be more specific, the brain-frying sequence will commence upon any of the following circumstances: ten minutes of no external power, two hours of network disconnection, removal, dismantling, or destruction of the NerveGear."

"The authorities and media in the outside world have already announced the details of these conditions to the general public. At present, the friends and family of several players have already ignored these warnings and attempted to forcefully remove their NerveGears, the result being.."

"..that sadly, two hundred and thirteen players have already been permanently retired from both Aincrad and the real world." A scream erupted in the crowd but generally everyone was still quiet. This news was a shock to all of us. I was stock-still quiet, trying to be rational about this.

Two hundred and thirteen? Two hundred and thirteen in one day? That's..horrible. "There is no need to worry about your physical bodies back in the real world. The current state of the game and today's fatalities have been covered far and wide on television, radio, and the Internet.

"The danger that someone will forcefully remove your NerveGear is already much diminished. The two-hour offline leeway period should provide enough time for your physical bodies to be transporteed to hospitals and other long-term care facilities with proper security, eliminating concerns over your physical well-being. You may rest assured...and focus on conquering the game."

Conquering..does he mean all 100 levels? He's insane! How could he possibly do this? "However, please proceed with caution. As of this moment, Sword Art Online is no longer a game to you. It is another reality.

"The standard means of player resurrection will no longer function as they did previously. When your hit points dwindle to zero, your avatar will be permanntly deleted..." The words he said next were expected in my head. "...and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

The thought of dying in here crossed my mind. Some creature attacking me, all my HP disappearing and my body shattering. All the while my real life body had its brain shattered and it messed up, causing me to die in reality. The thought repulsed me.

"There is only one condition through which you can be freed from this game. Simply reach the hundredth floor at the pinnacle of Aincrad and defeat the final boss who awaits you there. In that instant, all surviving players will be able to safely log out once again."

All surviving players huh? Everyone else will be..dead. How sick. How cruel of him to do this. "Finally, let me prove to you that this world is now your one and only reality. I've prepared a gift for all of you. You may find it in our item storage."

I quickly opened up my inventory and scrolled through. A new item was added and it was called 'Hand Mirror'. I clicked it and it materialized in my hand. I looked at it in confusion. It's just my avatar. A moment later, a blue light encased me.

"Wha-" My vision blurred for a moment then went back to normal. I looked back at the mirror and gasped. Instead of my avatars black hair and golden eyes, it was me. The real me. My multicolored hair and turquoise eyes stared back at me in shock. How did- wait. We did a scan of ourselves when we first used this.

"You are likely asking yourselves. why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of SAO and the NerveGear unit, do such a thing? Is it an act of terrorism? An elaborate kidnapping to extract ransom money?"

"What I seek is neither of these things. I have no goals or justifications at this moment. In fact, this very situation _was_ my ultimate goal. I created the NerveGear and SAO precisely in order to build this world and observe it. I have now achieved that aim."

After a momentary pause, he spoke his final words to us all. "This concludes the tutorial phase of Sword Art Online. I wish you the best of luck, dear players." His crimson rope began to draw back into the cracks, and once it was gone, the barrier that surrounded the area left.

The people roared with anger. Some people, not a lot, only a few, ran off away from here. I should do the same. I tore through the crowd and found a pathway. Before I left, I opened up my menu. I scrolled over to my friends list and found Hokta, so I sent him a message.

_Dear Hokta,_

_I've already left the Town of Beginnings. If you want to find me, I'm going to the town over. I'll see you whenever._

_~Maemi_

I sent the message then looked around. No one following me, good. I ran out of the town and through the fields pathway. Along the way there were some monsters, but they were easily defeated. When I arrived at the next town, I didn't see anyone.

Great. I can get this towns resources then leave. Based on the information given earlier, we all need to focus on leveling in order to beat the bosses on each level. The most I can do is work on my strength and my priorities. And that's eactly what I'll do.

**Cue theme music! Well, there you have it. A poorly written first chapter. I'll try to do better on the next one. But anyways, thanks for reading and see you all later!**


	2. Rose Laurel

**So, right now, I do not really know if you guys really enoy this story so far, given that there is only one chapter as of now. Though stated, I am **_**assuming **_**that the ones who have read this enjoy it. So here is another chapter for you followers. I do hope you enjoy.**

**▬▬ι═══════ﺤ Chapter 2: Rose Laurel -═══════ι▬▬**

The town had been empty when I arrived, but shortly after there were people cleaning out all the resources available. I'm glad that I had gotten here before them. If I was any later, there would have been generally nothing for me to gain. It is only because of luck.

Hokta had responded very quickly to my message. It made him sound frantic. He sounded desperate to reach me, at least as desperate as a typed letter could convey.

_Dear Maemi,_

_ I'm so glad you're fine! When everything went crazy, I was freaking out! But now that things have calmed down...somewhat..I guess we should get priorities straight. Knowing you, I won't hear from you for a few months, so I'll tell this now. I'm staying in a party with one of my friends. He's nice and trustworthy so don't start freaking out. If ever you need to meet up with me or just say something, send a message over. Good luck, and be safe!_

Needless to say, that warmed my heart. But not a lot. I'm not a very affectionate person, so something like this won't warm me with happiness. Though it's nice to know he cares. At least someone does. It's also a helping factor for future purposes

Back to focus, I had pretty much done all that I could in this town. The quests were fairly easy due to this being one of the begginning towns and on Floor One. They took barely any time to finish and the experience leveled me up a bit. Though it may seem helpful to others, I only took it as a little shove. It wasn't nearly as much as I was hoping for.

I had done about fifteen quests, though they were fairly easy. Since this was still Floor One, they didn't give me much col. My total right now, not including the col I'd had before, was 1130 col. My entire total was 2970 col. That doesn't really help me. I could get a cheap sword, but it wouldn't necessarily be better than the one I have now.

I decided to just save what I have and just earn some more, then go spend it. "Excuse me young lady." I turned around to see a person, an NPC, standing there. It looked like a male, abut 28. "Yes sir?" He had this needy look in his eyes, but I knew it was fake. "Can you help me with something?" Another quest.

"Yes I can sir. What's the matter?" He gave a small smile and began talking. "You see, our town has been thriving with all of this recent activity. Due to all of these people's demands, we have become scarce in certain goods. One of those is our supply of Rose Laurel."

"How come that has diminished so much?" He frowned at my interruption. "The Rose Laurel is a fruit in which increases your health and makes you more agile. You may see why people want it so bad. That's why we have run out. I was wondering if you would be kind enough to go and retrieve some more for us."

"Well I would be glad to do it, but I'm curious as to why none of you could retrieve it yourself?" He hummed. "Due to the benefit of the fruit, it is semi-dangerous to retrieve it. But benefit to the dangers is that no one usually goes to retrive them, so when we do, they are in an abundance. So, basically, it is a dangerous trip and only a strong person can get them, so I was hoping you would be able to."

Right when he said that, a message appeared in front of me. It said _'Quest: Rose Laurel Retrieval. Accept or Deny'. _Though not a very unique name, I accepted. The man beamed a smile. "Thank you very much young lady Maemi. I wish you good luck!" With that he walked off to do who knows what.

Great. Now I have another quest that's apparently _dangerous. _This should take at most and hour. Though if it takes that long, something is wrong with me. Well, there's only one thing left to do. Go retrieve the stash of Rose Laurel.

**▬▬ι═══════ﺤ Skip -═══════ι▬▬**

The man wasn't lying. If I hadn't prepared myself, I may have been in real danger. Due to not being at a very high level and with little supplies, it was basically me starting over again in this area.

The pathway was generally easy to go through. When I accepted the quest, a map came into my inventory showing me the path and location of the Rose Laurel. Without it, I probably would've passed them by. They were in a clearing through the woods in which if you didn't have the map, you wouldn't have thought of it at all.

When I walked into the clearing, it was deserted. Though I could see the flowers clear enough. It was like it was waiting for me. The sun was shining down on it through the trees. I walked towards it and looked around. There were absolutely no creatures around here.

I picked up the flowers and was bombarded with noise. It was like a cry you would hear when a creature was wounded. I stepped back in shock. Rising through the ground was some monster, about 20 feet high, snarling about in anger.

I looked back to where I had picked up the flowers and saw a nub left there. It was right on the center of the creature. I looked back up at its..head. It was still moving about randomly and then it popped up. The little bar that tells you what it is and how much health it has.

_Laurel Mother~~826 HP_

It really didn't seem like much. I was actually a bit higher than that. The Laurel Mother was a level 4 monster, something easy for Floor 1. I was a level higher and had 1018 HP. I would say this is easy, something I shouldn't worry about. Though now, it was serious. One wrong move and I'm a goner.

I clenched my sword and looked over the creature. It was moving wildly with no identifiable pattern. I scanned over it to see if there was any critical point. Right at the bottom where the flowers were previously at was a sort of nub. If anything, that seems like the right place to attack.

I ran towards the creature and a large stem came crashing down towards me. I dodged to the left and kept rushing towards it. The closer I got to the nub, the more protective the Laurel Mother got. It kept raining down stems, giving me only a second to recuperate.

Now at the base of the Laurel Mother, I readied my attack. I could feel the energy coursing through me, going straight through to my arms, then my sword. The light started up and soon encased my entire sword. _It's now or never._

I rushed right for the nub and slashed as much as I could. I activated one of my skills and did a number to the Laurel Mother. After attacking I back off to stay safe. When I looked up at its status, about half of its health was gone. My skill would be done recharging in about twenty seconds._ Just hold out till then._

The Mother cried once more and creatures came from the woods. I assumed they were practically backup for the Mother when she was in danger. They all had less health then she did, so a few slices should work. I charged at one of them and sliced, eventually killing it. I moved onto the next one, then the next. Eventually they were all gone, and all that was left was the Mother.

I looked up and saw her health partially replenished. _So they were just decoys so she could recharge. _I smiled at her trick. "Even for a fake plant, you're pretty smart. But not smart enough." My skill had recharged and was ready to go. I ran towards the Mother and continuously dodged. Stems kept falling down, trying to damage or crush me.

When I reached the small nub, I activated my skill and striked. I then attacked with simple moves and grinned. The particles were flowing off into the wind. The Laurel Mother was dead now. I could leave with my loot and turn this quest in. Now, how do I get back to the town?

**▬▬ι═══════ﺤ Skip -═══════ι▬▬**

I eventually found my way back to the town. There were even more people than when I left. Now I see why the flowers were needed. All these people are going insane, thinking that without potions or the sort they'll automatically die.

I searched around for the quest giver, wanting to turn these flowers in and get my reward. Due to the mass amount of people here, it was nearly impossible to find the man. _Nearly. _I found him over by a shack talking to a younger NPC. It looked as if she was his daughter.

"Excuse me sir!" I walked up to the man and he started to smile. "Ah, young lady Maemi! Have you retrieved the Rose Laurel?" When I reached him, a bar popped up asking whether or not to turn in items. I clicked yes and the man smiled even more.

"Thank you! Now we can use these to make more helpful items. It's not much, but here. Please accept this for helping us out." Another bar popped up in my vision, telling me what I had recieved from this quest.

_Quest: Rose Laurel Retrieval Complete_  
><em>Reward: 1800 col<em>  
><em> Laurel Mixture <em>

I tried to thank the man for giving me the reward, but he just kept interrupting, saying it was his pleasure. Eventually, I just gave up and said I was needed elsewhere. He was continuing to talk and I didn't want to be rude.

I went walking around, seeing if there were any more quests that I could do. Apparently, I had already wiped them out, because there were no more that I could find. Maybe now I could go buy something.

_Let's see. Thanks to that last quest, I now have 4770 col. I guess I could buy something useful. _I wandered over to the weapons shop and saw a girl. She didn't look that old, possibly 13.

"Oh! Hello miss! Would you like to see what we have here?" I nodded at her and she pulled up a list, showing exactly what was being sold here. I searched through the list, not really seeing anything appealing. Looking up at the girl, all I saw was a face of anticipation.

Looks like she really wants me to buy something. I searched through the list once more and found one sword that looked interesting. It was a sword titled _Twilight's Sculptor. _Its stats were pretty good as well, and it only cost 3000 col. It will take a large chunk out of my money.

I clicked the buy button and the girl smiled up at me. "Thank you! Please come again!" I nodded and left the shop, equiping my new sword. It had multiple shades going left to right, starting at a light blue and turning black by the end.

I wonder how good this sword is in combat. The only way to find out is to take action. I walked out of the town, now out of the safezone. I gave a slight smile as I looked down the path. Now, how about I go have some fun in this world?

**▬▬ι═══════ﺤ End -═══════ι▬▬**

**AN: Chapter two done! Hope you enjoyed reading it. By the way, the Rose Laurel that Maemi had to find, I had no idea that it was a real thing. Also the benefits I put for it are actually what it does. Well, based on what I found. I found it kind of weird that my random input for the thing was actually correct.**

**Anyways, until next time!**


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